Fettling an Axminster TS-200 Tablesaw

[wizer]

Thanks Ed, makes sense.

 

[stoatyboy]

Ok so back to the bent bar again (sorry)

If one was to use a riving knife that didn't rise and fall with the blade but was fitted to the throat plate if it was a ZCI (i've seen some mini ones that do this?) could then the entire cowl be removed without the need to cut half of it off and put it back again (and presumably that bendy bar could go as well)

Only ask as I'm very interested in the dust extraction mods as trying to plug up that big hole at the back with the moving pipe coming out of it is pretty impossible

Well done on the mods so far though - there's been afew murmurs about the saw in this thread but I'm really pleased with mine - now i've aligned it - and some better dust extraction will further improve it.

Tinkering with a tool like this gives you a much better understanding of how it works and therefore what it can and can't do and so how to use it safely IMHO.

keep up the good work

 

[wizer]

Stoaty, the problem with removing the cowl in it's entirety, as I was initially going to, is that the belt and pulley are then both unprotected from the saw. This shouldn't really be a problem, but if something were to go wrong with the blade then it would shred the belt and pulley in an instant and any of the parts that surround it. Also both the bendy bar and the back plate of the cowl play a part in the mechanism. Removing the cowl as well as filing the top of the riving knife led to the bar getting bent so easily. If you wanted to do this then I would definitely suggest you do that same as I and others have done and remove the front of the cowl. It turned out to be an easy job. Mark used my dremel to cut through the welds then used a cold chisel to tap through the paint that was holding it on. Less than 10mins later, the result is not pretty but worth it IMO. You could make up a replacement plate, but I honestly think that would take longer and be much more complicated than using the back of the cowl.

With the way it is now, I can plug the hole in the back and use some brush strip on the parts which move. Also grinding the bottom corner off the motor assembly meant that I can do away with one of the site panels, replacing it with a flat piece of ply\mdf.

Keep watching, Dust extraction is on my list. I just need to get my head around it all

 

[wizer]

Well, I like to please my audience, so today's Wizer Whisperer is about fitting the aftermarket fence.

I got this idea from someone else who'd done it some time last year and promptly forgot who it was. I'm sure they did a video of it. Another member, Green, reminded me when he mentioned he'd also done it. It's the Axminster Rip Fence Upgrade, which is intended for use on bandsaws. Green very kindly sent me pics of how he mounted it. Which is very straight forward. Here's how it goes.

Unpack the box, throw away manual...

...(make manly grunt)

Lock the fence onto the rail and then clamp it in position over the table. I have positioned the new rail so that the fence will lock just a fraction past the left hand side of the blade, thus giving the maximum capacity to the right.

With this clamped in place, I could mark the positions on the old rail for the brackets to be mounted to. Note: Green used a piece of 4mm angle Ali around the old fence rail to bulk it up. I didn't do that because I'm a cheap bone idle so and so. With the bracket positions marked, I drilled a 5mm hole for each.

and then used an M6 tap in the drill press. Actually, I did consider using the drill press to tap it, but realised this was foolish. What I actually did was use the tap chucked in the press but with hand pressure to twist the head. But I still managed and oopsy...

.. by putting too much pressure on the drill press handle, I manage to strip the thread :roll: No bother, these brackets are fully adjustable to anywhere along the old fence rail, so I just moved it along a bit and did it again.

The screw tightened up nicely and I'm sure will be strong enough. Although if I ever feel the angle ali is needed then it's an easy job to add it later.

That's the bulk of the work done. I did manage to get it fractionally too high and as a consequence there is about a 2mm gap at the beginning of the fence.

I'm not sure is this really matters. The fence does not glide along the table like I'd hoped, but is a massive improvement on the old one. The problem I have is comparing everything to the supersaw. That fence would glide effortlessly over the table. But then that had a pad at the end of the fence (and was nearly three times the price). I'm wondering if I should fit something like a foam pad at the far end of this one to both take up the 2mm error and help with movement.

If anyone is considering doing this then there is one massive (well bigish) consideration you have to make. You loose quite a bit of rip capacity.

The new fence gives me 540mm from blade to fence. However, the way that this is installed, you can continue to use the old fence if needed. So if you need to rip more than 560mm, you just get the old fence out. Personally I don't think it's going to be too much of a problem. Considering my health, I'm probably going to have to restrict my woodworking to small items anyway.

One thought I had was the rail that comes in this kit could probably be made in wood. The profile is pretty simple

The fence runs on bearings, so you'd just need to use a wood that was unlikely to move a lot. Something naturally greasy might be an advantage? Another reason for doing this upgrade is the ease of adjustment.

I'll cover that when I come to do it. I want to get the dust extraction sorted before I start setting it up and using it.

So there it is. No major cockups today. Well none that I've noticed

 

[dicktimber]

Wizzer
After keeping track of your exploits, I can only make the following comments...
Good job so far..however
If you take into consideration
Man Hours spent
Specialist help from outside (mind you only half a day as you got out of bed at 11.00):roll:
Loss of production time
specialist tools required...hammer and DTI
sleepless nights..... :wink: :wink:

You could have bought back that Jet thingy you sold last year or so,
purchased a larger workshop
had 3 phase installed
full central heating
and there would have been cash over for
A JACKOOOOZIE
and sauna
to relax in at the end of the working day :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[wizer]

Nice idea dick, but although time is money, it's not worth much to me and apart from £50 on the new fence, I've lost nothing but time. I've already said in this post that I bought the saw second hand, so actually it's still a very very long way off the price of a Jet Supersaw. Also, for the millionth time , I need a small tablesaw to fit into my workshop. A Supersaw would not fit in. Neither would a 10" SIP. Maybe an old 9" Startrite would fit in, but I don't see them going for under £250 on eBay and an old 2nd hand saw would need just as much work.

So please, stop telling me I could buy a better saw, coz if I could I WOULD!!! :evil: :roll:

 

[OPJ]

I thought you were the Wood Wizer? :-s :wink:

Good to see how the new fence works. I actually think your idea of using the pillar drill chuck to keep the tap held vertically is a good tip.

What's next, then? Build it in to a larger station with a router table?

 

[big soft moose]

Nice idea dick, but although time is money, it's not worth much to me and apart from £50 on the new fence, I've lost nothing but time. I've already said in this post that I bought the saw second hand, so actually it's still a very very long way off the price of a Jet Supersaw. Also, for the millionth time , I need a small tablesaw to fit into my workshop. A Supersaw would not fit in. Neither would a 10" SIP. Maybe an old 9" Startrite would fit in, but I don't see them going for under £250 on eBay and an old 2nd hand saw would need just as much work.

So please, stop telling me I could buy a better saw, coz if I could I WOULD!!! :evil: :roll:

yerrbut if if you'd spent all that time doing freelance web design - or selling your body down the docks for that matter - you'd be able to buy a bigger workshop and a supersaw to put in it :lol:

 

[9fingers]

Unforgivable hijack but (BSM you have pm to collect)

sorry guys

Bob

 

[wizer]

I thought you were the Wood Wizer? :-s :wink:

hehe the name of the site was Wood Wizer, not THE Wood Wizer But that's gone now

I actually think your idea of using the pillar drill chuck to keep the tap held vertically is a good tip.

Cheers, I've seen it somewhere, can't remember where. I'm not sure how you do it otherwise, it looks terribly trick to get it started as well as being straight, etc.

What's next, then? Build it in to a larger station with a router table?

Yeh, I need to design it first. I've got some ideas down on sketchup, just need to get it finished and stop getting distracted by Turning courses and dust extraction ideas :roll: :wink:

What I'm going to do over the next couple of days is mock up a full size prototype of the dust hopper. I'm having real problems drawing it and I think, like Rob and Ed, it's better to just get stuck in with a bit of trial and error.

I've also got to get my head around the ZCI.

I'm actually enjoying this. It's nice to be doing something that has no deadline pressure and I always hanker after well fettled tools, but have never bothered to actually do it before. I can't win around here, If I splash out on expensive tools I get reprimanded and then when I try to make the best out of what I've got, I get reprimanded :roll: I can't win guv!

 

[dicktimber]

Yeh
seems to me it's a chicken and egg situation here.....
you actually should have built a bigger workshop first :lol: :lol: :.
and as for selling your body down by the docks..
give us directions and I'll put a tenner in your hand :wink: :wink: :wink:

PS Can't wait for the chapter on fixing a TS 200 electrical wiring!!!!

 

[wizer]

spent all that time doing freelance web design

I'm beginning to think that's more like banging my head against a brick wall than this project!! But for your info I'm busy in that dept too. I'm not spending whole days on project, 2hours max, each day. So, so far, I've probably 'wasted' a day.

 

[big soft moose]

I can't win around here, If I splash out on expensive tools I get reprimanded and then when I try to make the best out of what I've got, I get reprimanded :roll: I can't win guv!

i'm sure all the reprimands are meant in a light hearted manner , but imo the reason you get such "reprimands" is not so much to do with buying expensive kit or making the best of cheap stuff but to do with the ... ahh.. turnover

still that said i supose you could always sell the BRM and buy a unisaw with the proceeds :roll: :lol:

 

[jimi43]

So...Tom....

When you gonna cut that there fence down to make it safe!!? :twisted:

:wink:

Jim

 

[wizer]

..

When you gonna cut that there fence down to make it safe!!? :twisted:

Waterlox!

One of the main reasons for the upgrade was the full length fence. I don't care how 'safe' short fences are, I just can't get on it them. The new fence does have a T Slot in the face, so I can fix a block to it if I need to.

Pete, My days of buying flashy tools are over. In fact my days of buying any tools may soon be over. From now on it's buy cheap or make do. Tho, saying that, it's awfully hard to get out of that frame of mind. A couple of years ago I didn't need to give much thought when buying things under 1k. Now even under £100 has to take a lot of careful thought. How times change, the crunch certainly bit in this household.

 

[big soft moose]

..

When you gonna cut that there fence down to make it safe!!? :twisted:

Waterlox!

One of the main reasons for the upgrade was the full length fence. I don't care how 'safe' short fences are, I just can't get on it them. The new fence does have a T Slot in the face, so I can fix a block to it if I need to.

.

mr maskery does a nice jig for a short rip fence that sits over your full length one - thats on the list of things to go with our TS200 when we get a moment.

on your second point i know that feeling too - 18 months ago i had about 10k in my current account and more money than i could spend each month - these days i'm down to less than 2 in the "reserve" and i have to take on freelance jobs to make the ends meet.

 

[chill]

i was a successful sausage maker but went bust because i couldn`t make both ends meat :lol:

 

[studders]

Either that fence is a lot bigger than it seems in the pics on the Axi site or the table saw is a lot smaller than I thought. :shock:

 

[xraymtb]

The TS200 is actually pretty small once the sliding tables and extensions are off. Thats part of the reason I think a lot of people want to build them into units (that and saving space as they tend to be in small workshops).

I personally think they are a great saw for the price and have never had a problem once it was setup correctly.

 

[wizer]

Either that fence is a lot bigger than it seems in the pics on the Axi site or the table saw is a lot smaller than I thought. :shock:

The pic on Axi's site appears to have chopped the end off the fence, so it looks very short. Which is what's put me off buying it until I saw Green's pics. Tho, as Mike says, it's a small saw. Precisely why I bought it. I'm putting it into a rolling cabinet to make efficient use of it's footprint. By both putting a router table in the side wing and having storage underneath.

Some more progress today. Will write it all up in a bit..